UKIP leader Paul Nuttall pledged to fight the “cancer” of Islamic extremism as he launched a manifesto focused on “defending our country and our way of life”.

The party’s general election manifesto contained a series of measures designed to crack down on Islamist extremism,, including banning face coverings such as the burqa and ensuring girls “identified to be at risk of FGM [female genital mutilation]” have medical inspections up to the age of 16, so that parents or guardians who arrange for them to be mutilated can be prosecuted.

It also set out plans for measures to protect schools, including putting schools into special measures if they are found to be “exposing children to Islamism”.

UKIP’s manifesto has policies on a range of issues, including recruiting 20,000 more police officers, increasing NHS and social care funding by £11 billion and providing a grammar school in every town.

However, the need to tackle extremism and improve integration is a major theme, and the topic Mr Nuttall chose to focus on when he spoke at the launch,

Referring to the suicide bombing at Manchester arena, he said: “The fact that this Islamist terrorist targeted a concert which was primarily attended by children and teenagers simply proves that there is no depth to which these evil and warped individuals will not stoop.

“When I was elected leader of Ukip six months ago, I was clear right away that the threat posed to our people by Islamic fundamentalism was one of the major issues I and indeed all politicians would face in the coming years.

He added: “It is not the British way to turn a blind eye to evil in our midst. It is not good enough to light candles and proclaim that extremists will not beat us. Action is required on multiple fronts.

“I am proud Ukip is setting out its patriotic agenda for defending our country and our way of life.”

Mr Nuttall also said he made no apologies for calling radical Islam “a cancer in our society”.

“I will repeat it - it is a cancer that needs to be cut out,” he added.

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North East UKIP politician Jonathan Arnott, one of the region’s MEPs, highlighted policies to improve services and cut taxes.

He said: “We have a fully-costed manifesto with sensible , thought-through policies.

“That is something that’s desperately needed, in sharp contrast to what we saw from the Labour Party in recent weeks.

“People want a sensible contribution to the discussion, and that’s what we’ve provided.

“The headline policies in terms of finances would be that we want to increase the income tax threshold to £13,500 a year, so that anybody earning less than that isn’t paying a penny in income tax.

“I think that is desperately needed, because working people have really felt the pinch in recent years. They haven’t had the pay rises they should have had.

“We have a policy to increase spending on the NHS and social care by £11bn a year

“We have got a focus particularly on mental health which has often been seen as the poor relation, and making sure we provide the resources necessary.”

UKIP manifesto policies

Brexit

Leave the European Union. The manifesto states that the EU will attempt to prolong the Brexit process as long as possible, adding: “The longer the EU can keep Britain in, the greater the opportunity for a new government to reverse the referendum decision, or sign up to some kind of associated membership agreement which, to all intents and purposes, will be just like EU membership.”

The Manifesto states: “UKIP is the only political party in Britain you can trust to deliver a true, unequivocal Brexit.”

A ban on the EU flag being flown from public buildings.

June 23rd, the date of the 2016 EU referendum, to become a bank holiday called Independence Day.

Cost of living

Abolish the TV licence, with the BBC adopting a new funding model based on subscriptions and/or advertising. The BBC would retain a “core free-to-air offering”.

Remove VAT from hot takeaway food such as fish and chips, and from women’s sanitary products.

Employment

Allow women at 60 in return for a lower pension.

Ensure employers are legally free to choose to hire a young unemployed British person under the age of 25 ahead of a better qualified or more experienced foreign applicant, without faing legal action.

Housing

Roll out high quality, low cost factory-built modular (FBM) homes, affordable on the national average wage of £26,000.

Health

Provide NHS England with an additional £9 billion a year by 2021/22 and five social care an extra £2 billion, using savings from cutting the foreign aid budget.

Launch a crackdown on ineligible foreign nationals using the NHS. Only British citizens or foreign nationals who have paid UK taxes for at least five consecutive years will be eligible for non-urgent NHS care.

Challenging the media

Review advertising, broadcast and editorial codes to combat “lad culture” that treats young women as sex objects, and end ‘red circle of shame’ in celebrity magazines that highlights imperfections.

Education

Open a grammar school in every town. Pupils will be able to join at any age up to 16.